


Cabin in the Territories.

by LadyDrace



Category: due South
Genre: Banter, Cabin Fic, Canon Compliant, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, POV Benton Fraser, Post-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-31
Updated: 2017-01-31
Packaged: 2018-09-21 04:29:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9531539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyDrace/pseuds/LadyDrace
Summary: Fraser and Ray take a nice, long vacation in Canada.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mithrel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mithrel/gifts).



> Written for my pal [Maureen](http://mithrel.tumblr.com/). <3
> 
> Unbetaed but thoroughly edited.

”How many cabins do you actually have, Fraser?” Ray asks, opening cabinets seemingly at random, while Fraser gets the fire going, and Diefenbaker sniffs around in a corner. ”I mean, not that I'm complaining or nothin', but I'm pretty sure you're not a secret millionaire. And if you are, you should definitely be picking up the tab a lot more.”

 

”I'm not a millionaire, Ray.”

 

”No, I just said I'm pretty sure you're not. But thanks for confirming, I guess.”

 

”You're welcome,” Fraser says cheerfully, getting the kindling positioned just right in the fireplace.

 

Ray comes over to plop down on the couch, which gives off a small puff of dust. ”No, but seriously, how many cabins do you have?”

 

”One.”

 

”... Fraser, we've been touring the territories for about three weeks now, and this is the fourth cabin we've stayed in. And I don't remember making reservations at any point during this little adventure.”

 

”I wouldn't imagine we'd have to. Ah, here we go.” The fire blooms, and Fraser nurtures it until it gets going. Ray is unusually quiet, though, and Fraser eventually turns to look at him. ”Is something the matter?” Ray is looking at him with a tiny half-smile, and Fraser returns it hesitantly. ”What, Ray?”

 

”You know what I just realized? I only took me about three years, but I think I just figured it out. You _love_ this stuff.”

 

”What stuff would that be?”

 

Ray gestures between them with a gloved hand. ”This. This back and forth that never actually gets anywhere. It's why you never give a straight answer to anything ever. You get such a freakin' kick out of giving people the runaround, don't you?”

 

”Well,” Fraser hedges. ”That's neither here nor there, really-”

 

”Yeah, you see!” Ray cries, pointing an accusing finger at Fraser's face. ”You have some kinda, uh, what's that word, uhm. Obfuscation! You, my friend, have an obfuscation fetish!”

 

”I do not!”

 

”You do!” Ray says gleefully, pulling off his hat and gloves as the cabin's chill is chased away by the fire. ”You get all tingly in those pumpkin pants every time you manage to talk your way around a question. I'm on to you!”

 

”I do not get... tingly.” Fraser objects, though if he's being completely honest with himself, he's forced to admit that things do tend to get tingly one way or another around Ray.

 

Ray grins at him, gleefully, and worms his feet out of his boots so he can stretch out on the couch, crossing his ankles with satisfaction. ”Oho, yes, you do. It's like foreplay to you.”

 

Assured that the fire is going steadily, Fraser stands up and starts getting out of his own hat and scarf. “You're entirely mistaken, and you know it. You've _seen_ my foreplay.”

 

“Well, sure, but there's foreplay and then there's _foreplay_ ,” Ray argues with a ridiculous waggle of his eyebrows that is somehow still very attractive. Fraser isn't sure he'll ever figure out why.

 

“At least I _have_ foreplay. Unlike _some_ people.”

 

Ray shoots up and points again, completely ignoring the dig at his impatient ways, in bed or outside of it. “Hah! That wasn't a denial!”

 

Aware that he's cornered, Fraser decides instead to pretend he's busy undoing his boots and setting them aside, pointedly taking Ray's snow-dripping boots away as well. Fraser's hanging his coat on the rack when a pair of strong arms wind around his torso, and Ray's nose drags against his ear. “You're dodging the question.”

 

“Sorry, what _was_ the question?” Fraser asks, having to struggle a little bit keeping his composure, like he always has to whenever Ray is unexpectedly touchy like this.

 

“You. Like. This. Don't you,” Ray enunciates, his lips moving against Fraser's neck, and it's utterly distracting.

 

“This? Oh yes, I like this very much.”

 

“Wordplay, doofus.”

 

“You mean like Scrabble? Why yes, Ray, I do enjoy Scrabble and similar games. Did I ever tell you about my fourteen week Scrabble winning streak in sixth grade?”

 

“You're a piece of work,” Ray huffs, and pulls away to get out of his own coat. “See if I ever blow you again.”

 

There's no possible way Fraser can stop the ugly snort that bursts out of him. “Right.”

 

“Excuse you, are you callin' me a liar?”

 

“Not at all, Ray, I'm merely suggesting that perhaps you have a somewhat optimistic view of your own self-restraint.”

 

“Wow. Rude,” Ray says, flopping back onto the couch while Fraser goes to the small kitchenette to see what's available. He finds some hot chocolate mix, and even some condensed milk, and he figures it'll be a decent enough way to warm them up, if the delightful semi-argument hadn't already gotten them both a little hot. Ray is disturbingly on the nose sometimes, even if he's reaching a little bit with this one, but Fraser isn't about to tell him that. He'll probably show him in more intimate terms later, but for now he's savoring the low burn of frustration still hanging in the air.

 

Come to think of it, it probably _is_ a fetish. Oh dear.

 

Ray is still a little huffy when Fraser presents him with the steaming mug a little while later, but he does sit up so Fraser can fit on the couch as well. They sit quietly for a while, just watching the fire and warming their fingers on the cocoa, while the cabin slowly heats up as well. It's a single room, so it doesn't take too long, but Fraser isn't about to let details like that stop him from using it as an excuse.

 

“We should sit closer. For warmth,” he says, keeping his face perfectly even, mostly because he knows Ray loves to watch him bullshit. It's not lying. It's just... well, bullshitting is a pretty apt term, really.

 

“Oh, we should, should we?” Ray says, rolling his eyes. But he still moves in close enough that Fraser can put his arm around his shoulders and pull him close with a satisfied sigh. “You know what this place needs? Blankets,” Ray says after a while, looking around the spartan room. “Like, uh... a quilt or somethin'.”

 

“I'm sure it has one. Probably kept in a closet to avoid dust.”

 

“Yeah, probably.” Ray sips his cocoa slowly, and Fraser can feel the warmth building between them, even through both of their wool sweaters. “I'm never gonna get an answer, am I?”

 

“About what, Ray?”

 

“About whose cabin this is.”

 

“Well, strictly speaking, that's not what you asked.”

 

Ray groans and returns to his cocoa, mumbling about dumb Mounties, and Fraser hides his smirk behind his own mug. “It belongs to a friend. But, generally, in the wilderness, we share what we have. If you have need of shelter, you use what's there. You take what you need, and restock before you leave.”

 

“We're not exactly in dire straits or anything, though, Fraser. It's even sunny outside. And we're on vacation, not lost in the wild.”

 

“True. But such rough living conditions breed a culture of sharing. Besides, most people only spend their summers in cabins, relocating to the cities for winter. It's safer. So at this time of year we can reasonably expect most cabins to be empty.”

 

Ray narrows his eyes at him. “And it's okay to just... camp out in random cabins for fun? I'm not buyin' it.”

 

“As well you shouldn't. But, like I said, this cabin belongs to a friend, and I know she won't mind. I usually leave a note every place we stay, just to say hello and let the owner know we've been here, in case we accidentally leave something lacking.”

 

There's another long moment where Ray just stares at him, obviously trying to work out if he's lying somehow. “So what you're tellin' me is, that you planned this whole trip around the assumption that all these cabins would just be empty, and that the owners won't mind us screwing each other silly every night in their beds?”

 

“Considering many, many others have no doubt done it before us, and that it very likely happens to my own cabin as well, then, no, I don't imagine they'll mind terribly.”

 

“... okay, now I'm feelin' skeeved out.”

 

Fraser cuddles him closer, and presses a small kiss to the side of his head. “Don't worry, Ray, I'll distract you,” he murmurs, letting just a hint of a lustful purr slide into his voice, and it's endlessly amusing how it immediately gets Ray's attention.

 

“Oh yeah? And how do you plan on doin' that?”

 

“Well. I suppose I could start with some pleasant conversation,” Fraser says airily. “For instance, did you know that the word cocoa derives from the Spanish word _cacao_ , which is in turn derives from Nahuatl word-”

 

“Aw, jeez, Fraser,” Ray groans, but he doesn't argue any further than that, and doesn't move away. He just drinks his hot cocoa, and lets Fraser talk.

 

So Fraser details the history of the cocoa bean while darkness falls outside, and the small room slowly warms up. Dief snores in front of the fire, and later they add a few more things to the history of the cabin's bed.

 

It's a good vacation.

 

End.

 


End file.
